Samsung J7 catches fire in an Indian flight causing a mid-air scare

It was a close call for nearly 120 passengers onboard the Indian Jet Airways flight 9W 791 from New Delhi to Indore as the cabin crew could somehow major to avert what could have been a major disaster due to an exploding smartphone. New Delhi resident Arpita Dhal, was carrying a Samsung J7 smartphone along with two other phones in her handbag. Fifteen minutes after take off, she noticed smoke emanating from her handbag and called the cabin crew for assistance. 

It turned out that the smoke was from the Samsung J7 phone that had exploded in her handbag. There was reportedly a mid-air scare and the passengers prayed for a safe landing. The flight crew tried to extinguish the flames using a fire extinguisher but as luck would have it, the fire extinguisher malfunctioned. This prompted the crew to put the phone in a tray of water to subdue the flames. The other phones of the passenger were also reportedly put into water as a precautionary measure.

The flight, however, landed without any major hiccups and all passengers heaved a sigh of relief. The affected passenger said she would file a complaint against Jet Airways for the malfunctioning fire extinguisher as it would have put many lives at risk in the event of a major fire. A spokesperson for Jet Airways said that the incident was resolved "as per guidelines". A Samsung India spokesperson said that the company is in touch with the authorities to gather more information. After the whole Note 7 fiasco, another exploding phone is the last thing Samsung could wish for.

The phone has been confiscated to understand the cause for explosion and will be returned to the owner after investigation. 

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